Sleeping less than 5 hours increases risk of chronic diseases, study shows

Research conducted at University College London (UCL) in the UK found that people who slept five hours or less at the age of 50 were 20 per cent more likely to develop a chronic disease.

The research also reported that such people were 40 percent more susceptible to more than two chronic diseases over the next 25 years, compared to those who slept for seven hours.

According to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, people who continued with the same sleep pattern in their sixties and seventies with less than five hours of sleep were 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with multiple-morbidity or two or more. was more than 40 percent. More chronic diseases than those who get enough sleep at the same age.

The study’s lead author, Severin Sabia, said: “Multiculturalism is increasing in high-income countries and more than half of older adults now have at least two chronic diseases.”

“This is proving to be a major challenge to public health, as multimorbidity is associated with higher healthcare utilization, hospitalization and disability,” Sabia said.

Even five hours of sleep increases risk of death in 50s

In research, it was found that even five hours of sleep at the age of 50 increased the risk of mortality by 25 percent in the follow-up period. The finding is quite clear because short sleep duration increases the risk of chronic heart disease over the years. The increased risk of disease can ultimately increase the risk of death.

Severin Sabia advises people to sleep seven to eight hours a night to avoid such risks. She also points out that the structure of sleep changes with age. The researcher also mentioned that it was proved earlier that sleeping more or less than 7-8 hours a night can lead to individual chronic diseases.

During the research, the participants’ sleep duration was measured along with mortality and disease from which they suffered over the course of 25 years.

The study examined the effect of sleep duration on more than 7,000 men and women aged 50, 60, and 70 from the Whitehall II cohort study conducted from 1985 to 1988. During the study, researchers examined the health of 10,308 civil servants aged 35 to 55.

“Our findings suggest that shorter sleep duration is also associated with multi-morbidity. To ensure a better night’s sleep, it is important to promote good sleep hygiene, such as ensuring that bedrooms are quiet, dark, and sleepless.” The first is at a comfortable temperature.

He also advised people to stay away from the use of electronic devices and have large meals before sleeping. Being physically active and avoiding exposure to light during the day will also help in sound sleep.

Long sleep is risky for people already suffering from any chronic disease

In addition to shorter sleep duration, the researchers also tried to explore the association between longer sleep hours and health outcomes. There was no clear observation related to longer sleep hours and polyuria in healthy people at age 50. But the researchers found that longer sleep duration increased the risk of developing another disease by about 35 percent for those already suffering from a chronic disease.

The researchers justify this finding by citing underlying health conditions affecting sleep as the cause.

Since the data collected in the research was self-reported by the participants, there is a possibility of reporting bias. However, the findings of the research were also validated through electronic measurements of the sleep of 4,000 participants.

Another research observation was that only civil service members who participated were already employed when recruited for the study and were also more likely to be healthier than others.

(with inputs from PTI)